Bill C-51: A Dilemma Between Freedom and National Security.
The recent and numerous terrorist attacks happening in Western countries push government to take several actions to counter terrorism. Such a situation is reflected in the ongoing debate about the Bill C-51, the Canadian Anti-Terror Law as a mean to protect the Canadian citizens. The Bill implies a certain degree of surveillance of the population and information sharing among the different sectors of the Government. The controversy of Bill C-51 comes from the dilemma it creates between the necessity to protect the population and the right to privacy. One hand, the bill is an attempt to preserve the Canadian national security and on the other hand, it violates the citizen’s fundamental …show more content…
According to him, “The business of government is to promote the happiness of the society by punishing and rewarding. The punishing part of its business is more particularly the subject of penal law. In proportion as an act tends to disturb society’s happiness, i.e. in proportion as its tendency is pernicious, it will create a demand for punishment” (Bentham 148). Therefore, with bill C-51, the Canadian government fulfill its moral obligation to protect its population. In addition, the punishment must be proportionate to the harm caused, thus a loss of privacy is a small price to pay to ensure preserve national security. Following Bantam’s ideas on pain and punishment, it is important to link the nature of the mischief, in this case terrorism. Indeed, the rule on the secondary type of mischief stipulates that “the first objective is to prevent all sorts of offences as far as this is worthwhile; therefore “the value of the punishment must always be sufficient to outweigh the value of the profit of the offence” (Bentham 96). The statement the “end justifies the means” can be applied, as Bentham suggests that not only the punishment must be proportionate, but also powerful enough to counter the evil that threatens the happiness of the
The recent and numerous terrorist attacks happening in Western countries push government to take several actions to counter terrorism. Such a situation is reflected in the ongoing debate about the Bill C-51, the Canadian Anti-Terror Law as a mean to protect the Canadian citizens. The Bill implies a certain degree of surveillance of the population and information sharing among the different sectors of the Government. The controversy of Bill C-51 comes from the dilemma it creates between the necessity to protect the population and the right to privacy. One hand, the bill is an attempt to preserve the Canadian national security and on the other hand, it violates the citizen’s fundamental …show more content…
According to him, “The business of government is to promote the happiness of the society by punishing and rewarding. The punishing part of its business is more particularly the subject of penal law. In proportion as an act tends to disturb society’s happiness, i.e. in proportion as its tendency is pernicious, it will create a demand for punishment” (Bentham 148). Therefore, with bill C-51, the Canadian government fulfill its moral obligation to protect its population. In addition, the punishment must be proportionate to the harm caused, thus a loss of privacy is a small price to pay to ensure preserve national security. Following Bantam’s ideas on pain and punishment, it is important to link the nature of the mischief, in this case terrorism. Indeed, the rule on the secondary type of mischief stipulates that “the first objective is to prevent all sorts of offences as far as this is worthwhile; therefore “the value of the punishment must always be sufficient to outweigh the value of the profit of the offence” (Bentham 96). The statement the “end justifies the means” can be applied, as Bentham suggests that not only the punishment must be proportionate, but also powerful enough to counter the evil that threatens the happiness of the